SWAT 4 is now on GOG

[bVork]

https://www.gog.com/game/swat_4_gold_edition

I think this is really cool. SWAT 4 hasn't been available digitally since Direct2Drive shut down years ago. Activision hasn't seemed to care enough to put it up for sale anywhere else, but evidently GOG managed to convince them to do so.

I mean, sure, like every other game in existence there has always been a way to acquire and play it, but I think there's a lot of value in keeping older classic games perpetually available.

If you haven't played SWAT 4, it's a tactical shooter with a major emphasis on proper police procedures. The ideal mission involves not killing anyone, but instead taking everyone into custody and confiscating all weapons. What makes SWAT 4 special in my eyes is the art direction. You can see the talents of Irrational Games here. It would've been easy for them to make the game a typical urban shooter like its predecessor, SWAT 3, or the Rainbow Six games, but instead there's a distinct survival horror vibe at play. Buildings are dark and shadowy, the music is creepy, and some of the missions are honestly quite disturbing. It feels like you and your team are a shining light, a beacon of hope amongst the urban decay, a sword and shield protecting humanity not from eldritch abominations but from its own worst inclinations. Even if you aren't interested in tactical shooters, I think this is one you should play.

[Tain]

yoooo

Wonderful. I never got to try the expansion.

[Dolemite]

Irrational Games made this? I'm down.

[koda]

Direct2Drive shut down? Man, am I out of the loop.

I played a tiny bit of this game around the time it was released, but not enough for it to really stick with me. Maybe I'll give it another spin.

[bVork]

Direct2Drive was bought by Gamefly (SWAT 4 disappeared in the transition), then Gamefly sold it to some other company that rebranded it as Direct2Drive again.